"Si…"
"Did she say anything?"
Pedro put his plate down and looked at Cord, "Her wish was that you'd come home to stay. She never held out hope that you would come home…."
Cord looked down the steps and studied his words.
"Why'd she want me to come back here? She knew how it was!"
"She said you were a wandering star and that you had no home. But she hoped you'd call this place home, because it had been hers for so long. This place was all she had to give you…"
"She wanted me to stay here, knowing how people felt about me?" Cord frowned.
Pedro hung his head. "She said a man needs to grow roots, and the deeper he grows them, the better the man. She knew it would be hard for you, but this is the home she built for you. The home she wanted you to have."
"Never looked at it like that, I guess." Cord admitted.
"This place, is rich for cattle. You have water, and three hundred head of prime cattle waiting for you to take them over. I would help if you like."
"If I decide to stay, I'd like you to be a part of it Pedro. We could build a house for your family here…if I stay."
Pedro studied him a minute. His facial features smiled at him. "If you don't stay, what will happen?"
"I don't know yet…. I surely don't." Cord saw the distress in Pedro's wife's face and studied on that.
"Then I will wait until you do know." Pedro smiled once more and nodded. "For Maria and I care about you Cord, just like we cared about your mother."
"If I stay, I want to surround myself with people that care and love, not hate. I would want to make a real home for myself. Because…. I haven't had one in a very long time."
"Si…I can see it in your eyes. You should stay…"
Lilly stared at him. He could tell she wanted to ask questions, but she didn't. But she did reach out her hand to him and hold it for a long time.
He stared at their hands and looked up into her face. "Walk with me Lilly…"
"Sure… Charlie, don't run off now." Lilly instructed.
Charlie waved to her.
Chapter Four
There was a clearing Cord loved when he was younger, it overlooked the land and the small hills about. It was beautiful and that's where he stopped and found the big log he'd sat on so many years ago.
He had Lilly sit on the log, as he propped a booted heel on it and stared down into her perplexed face.
"Something on your mind, Cord?" She glanced up at his unreadable expression.
"Yeah, there is and I'm just wondering how to go about this. It's kind of a crazy idea I got and wanted to see what you thought about it." He moved about restlessly. "I don't know where to start, or how to."
"Just try, and maybe I can help along the way?"
"I got some ideas and well…you are part of those ideas. So I need to talk to you about them."
Lilly turned to stare into his face. "Sounds serious?"
"It is." He said and moved away, so he wasn't looking directly at her. Looking at Lilly did things to him that he didn't want to be affected by while he spoke.
"Lilly do you like running that saloon?"